UK Broadband: volume not speed

The UK broadband market is growing strong, and the next move involves taking broadband customers from 1-2 MBps, to 8 MBps (Mega Bits per second).

However, there are increasing signs that rather than price on the speed on the connection, ISP’s are more likely to charge according to how much material is actually downloaded. There are trials already in place to measure the effectiveness of the service.

Already there is one clear drawback: limitations with the ADSL system mean that people nearer exchanges are most likely to benefit from the faster speeds.

This means that rural businesses could find themselves paying the same price for slower connectivity, regardless of the amount they actually download from the internet.